CLEMSON,
SC - Head Coach Mark Elliott and the Clemson track & field coaching staff
announced the signing of nine athletes to national letters of intent and one
mid-year enrollee on Monday. The nine athletes include seven women and two men
representing seven different states. The men's class includes a middle distance
runner and sprinter. The women's class consists of three sprinters, a hurdler,
three distance runners and a thrower. The mid-year enrollee, Olivia James, will
begin competition during the 2014 outdoor season.

Below
is a Q&A with Coach Elliott on the overall signing class.

Q: Overall, it appears as though you
and your staff addressed some areas of need despite a late start in the
recruiting process?Elliott: "I'm not one to make
excuses. We did start late, but this class is not only a testament to the
coaches we have, but also benefitting from the history of the program. It's not
just that we're expert recruiters; we do know how to recruit. But it was a
combination of everything - the history of Clemson track & field, the
prospects all visited and saw the facilities, they listened to my vision and
their event coach's vision. We're hopefully signing some top kids who can help
us down the road for sure."

Q: Was a heavy focus on sprints your
intended starting point with recruiting?Elliott: "The bottom line is we
needed to replace the nucleus of the team. Some athletes turned pro and others
moved on, so we need to replace that. You have to cover those areas. But you
also have to work with your niche. We're trying to get the middle distance and
distance group started from a national level. It's the same thing in the
throws, that's why we signed a female thrower. You see a very good miler on the
women's list, so hopefully we'll have a really good DMR next year. We touched
areas across the board, but we also had to work around the scholarships we had
available. It's not an exact science. You have to use the money the right way
to piece it with what you have already here, and then you coach them up."

Q: Do you anticipate signing any
athletes late on the men's side?Elliott: "We didn't have many
scholarships available. We only have a couple of seniors. We needed a good
quarter miler. Jeffery comes to us from Miami Northwestern High School, which
has a great history of quarter milers. He will be one of the top high school kids
this season, so our goal is to build around him and recruit a good half-miler
that can also run on the 4x4. I don't want to just frivolously sign people, you
want to know you're signing kids who can contribute for years to come."

Competed at the 2013 New Balance Outdoor
Nationals in the emerging elite 800 meters

Earned four all-state awards on the track
in 2012 and 2013, which includes three state medalist honors

Four-time all-region runner and 2013 Most
Valuable Performer on his team

Has won 11 York County Championships
across various events

Elliott's
take:"I
finally got a chance to bring Chad in on a visit. He's a lot like Elizabeth on
the women's side. You want to make sure you can keep some of the good kids in
state, the ones that want to stay. Somebody like Chad has a lot of potential,
and hopefully can contribute a lot. When that happens, it makes it easier to
recruit around the state because kids can relate to Chad and Elizabeth. Both
will, in time, contribute to the program."

2013 USA Youth Outdoor Champion in the
17-18 year old division in the 400 dash

2013 Florida AAA runner-up in the 400; also
all-state in 2012 in the event

Attended same high school that sent NCAA
record-holder and 2013 The Bowerman winner Brianna Rollins to Clemson

Elliott's
take:"Jeffery
is like Deja on the men's side. He will be an anchor on the team and develop
into a national runner. He will help us in the 200 and 400. We hope to build on
that and pair some guys with him and what we have here, and hopefully build the
men's program toward that national level soon."

2013 New Balance Outdoor All-American in
the hammer throw, she finished eighth with a mark of 157'6" (No. 14 mark on
national performance list)

Competed at 2012 and 2013 New Balance Indoor
National in the girls weight throw, and in 2011 Outdoor Nationals in the hammer

2013 Millrose Games runner-up in the
girls weight throw

Elliott's
take:"We
have a decorated coach in the throws. Our goal with signing Danielle is to find
someone within a year or so we believe can be at the national meet. We're happy
to sign her, and get that event group moving in the right direction. On the
men's side, we can build around James (Plummer). By signing Danielle, we think
we can continue to attract good athletes like her to the program."

Placed 19th at the 2011 USATF
National Junior Olympics XC Championships in the two-mile run (out of 138
competitors)

Elliott's take:"Locally,
Elizabeth comes from a die-hard Clemson family. Her parents work at Clemson. I
see her running all the time. Part of my goal is to make it hard for the best
kids in the state to leave. A lot of them grew up Clemson fans and want to go
to school here, so I think Elizabeth will come in and over time help us in
cross country and on the conference level."

Elliott's
take:"Katie
has run a 4:49 mile, and that's really good. Having good quarter and
half-milers, we're looking to have a good DMR indoors that can get to the
national meet and score. They do award points in distance, not just the
sprints. We're trying to get points across the board. As the head coach and the
distance coach, I want to make sure we have athletes we can coach up in that
area. Katie is a huge signee."

Won IAAF World Junior Championship silver
medalist in 2012 with Jamaica's 4x400 relay

Won IAAF World Youth Championship bronze
medal in the 400 dash and won gold medal with Jamaica's medley relay in 2011

Finalist in the 400 dash at the 2012 IAAF
World Junior Championships in Spain

Won golf medal at the 2011 Carifta Games
in the U20 division of the 400 dash

Elliott's
take:"Olivia
has a great deal of international experience that will help her have an impact
on our program almost immediately. With her and Marlena (Wesh) running this
outdoor season, we will have a formidable 4x4 right away. Olivia is the type of
athlete you can build around in the quarter mile. She will help us compete on
the national level for years to come."

One of Michigan's top 800 runners,
she was region champion in the event and in the 1600 during 2013 outdoor season

Father, Joe, lettered from 1974-77 for
the Tiger golf team under Head Coach Bobby Robinson and earned a Clemson degree
as well

Elliott's
take:"Katie's
dad is a Clemson alum. She's right at five minutes in the mile. Her build, and
with the aspirations she has for herself, reminds me of someone we're
red-shirting this indoor season, Grace Barnett."

2013 Florida AA champion in the 400 dash and
bronze medalist in the 200

2011 and 2012 Florida AA silver medalist
in the 400

Owns personal bests of 53.20 in the 400
dash and 23.94 in the 200

Posted No. 9 time during 2013 indoor
season at the Brooks PR Invitational

Elliott's
take:"Deja
is big-time. She's from a family that understands the sport and is one of the
top high school quarter milers from the state of Florida. She's a smart girl
and knows what she wants. If she progresses the way we believe she can, she's
the type of athlete that can win a championship for us. When you couple her
with our mid-year freshman that just came in, Olivia James, we're looking good
on paper. Add in Malayshia George, and we'll be very good in the quarter mile.
Even if we didn't sign anyone else, she would be a good anchor to sign with
this class."

Ranked second in New Jersey and 14th
nationally in the 55 dash during 2013 indoor season

Competed at 2013 New Balance Indoor
Nationals and competed in the 60 dash alongside fellow Clemson signee Taylor
Williams in the event

2013 New Balance Indoor National Champion
with her school's 4x55 shuttle hurdle relay

2013 New Jersey state champion in the 400
hurdles, posted personal best 59.56 which was the No. 5 time nationally by a
high schooler

New Jersey Group 3 State Champion in five
different events in 2013

In 2014, already No. 7 in the U.S. in the
55 dash with a personal best 7.03

Elliott's
take:"I've
known about Torie because I have coached athletes from her area. I believe she
will contribute surely on the conference level, but she can also bridge the gap
on the national level. She'll be running possibly on the 4x1, definitely the
4x4. She can run the 400 hurdles; that's her signature event. She can also run
the short hurdles. From a conference standpoint, she is that all-around type of
athlete you want. With the limitations on scholarships, you have to have
athletes that can do multiple events. She's one of our big signees."

Elliott's
take:"I've
recruited from her area, as have Coach Gibson and Coach Thomas. She was a
little bit of a sleeper at first. We went hard after we spoke to her parents,
and to people from her area that know her. She has a lot of talent, and is
proving it this indoor season. The dynamics between her family and us seem to
work well. She will hopefully be one of those athletes that make you say later,
'Man, you guys have good eyes.'"